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Travel

Dragon Trail Interactive

Dragon Trail Interactive BriefingDigital Marketing 2017

About Dragon Trail

China

DigitalTravel

Dragon Trail Interactive is an award-winning travel technology and digital marketing agency helping travel and tourism organizations reach and connect with China’s affluent consumers online. We are experts in content marketing, web and mobile development, creative digital campaigns and travel technology digital solutions for consumer and trade marketing.Founded in 2009, Dragon Trail Interactive has offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Xi’an and London.

Roy Graff – Managing Director EMEA, London• Over 20 years of experience working with China’s tourism

and retail sectors on business development, PR and digital marketing.

• Based in London, he heads Dragon Trail’s Europe, Middle-East and Africa business, offering full service digital marketing aimed at a Chinese audience.

• Author of the book 'China, the Future of Travel’ and an experienced consultant, strategic advisor and speaker on Chinese business, marketing, distribution and business etiquette.

• Assisted hospitality brands (e.g. Peninsula Hotels and Resorts, Bulgari Hotels, Citizen M, Dan Hotels Group) and destinations (Britain, Ireland, Peru, Ghana, Costa Rica etc.).

About Us

Ms Michaela Mentasti – Marketing Director, Beijing China• Michaela is responsible for marketing and communications

for Dragon Trail Interactive. Prior to this, Michaela lead the promotion of bilateral trade between Australia and China at the Australia China Business Council – Victorian Division.

• With an early background in tourism, Michaela worked as a consultant for the Italian Tourism Board in Beijing after the introduction of ADS visas for Chinese citizens.

• Originally from Italy, Michaela has lived in China for seven years, in Australia for six and the U.S. for two years. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Chinese studies from Ca’ Foscari University and Master’s Degree in Marketing from The University of Melbourne.

Dragon Trail Clients - Tourism Boards

Clients - Hotels

Clients - Other Travel Related Clients

Preferred Partner of The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA)

Dragon Trail has an extensive array global partnerships through a network of associations and industry peak bodies.

Partner of COTRI, the worldwide leading independent research institute for on Chinese Outbound Tourism

Part of an international travel marketing alliance consisting of advertising, PR, media and marketing firms spread across four different continents, all specializing in travel

Key Partners

Partner of Sabre, a global technology company specialized in travel and a leading provider of hotel reservations and distribution solutions.

China’s Travel Landscape

#1 Outbound tourism source market UNWTO

122 million trips taken in 2016

+3.4% YOY increase CNTA

1 out of 10 international tourists is Chinese

Chinese Outbound Market Size

Chinese Outbound Market Size

(COTRI ， 2015)

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 est.

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

10.5 12.1 16.6 20.228.9 31 34.5

41 45.8 47.557.4

70.3

83.2

98.2

116 120

122

Chinese Outbound Travel - Border Crossings

Millions of border crossings

£180 billion in overseas spending in 2015

+53% from $140bn spent in 2014 World Travel & Tourism Council, 2016

Chinese Outbound Market Spending

#1 The worlds’ biggest overseas spenders in 2014 UNWTO

Chinese Outbound Market Spending

Chinese Outbound Market Preferred Destinations95% of Chinese citizens do not have passports… … Asia still dominates outbound travel destinations, only 10% can afford long haul outbound travel destinations

(COTRI ， 2015)

Chinese Outbound Market 2016 Destinations

• For the first time in Q2 2016 more journeys were taken to

destinations beyond Greater China (53.3% of the total) than within

the region.

• Trips to Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan decreased by 3.7%, whilst trips

to the rest of the world increased by 12.5% in comparison to Q2 2015.

Most Popular 2016 Destinations

Hong Kong

Macau

Thail

and

South Korea

Japan

Taiw

an

United St

ates

Singa

pore

Vietnam

France

Malaysi

a

German

y

35.441

16.963

7.789 6.975 5.5133.088 2.612 2.458 2.229 1.833 1.702 1.175

Top 12 Destinations for Chinese Outbound Travelers in 2016

Visitors in millions-8.2%

-0.4%

+ 16.5% +39.5% +28.7%-11.7% +14.8% +38.2% +55.2% -29.6% +23.1% -5.6%

(Jingdaily, 2017, data from individual NTOs)

Chinese Outbound Market Future Destinations

(HSBC, August 2016)

(Chinese International Travel Monitor, August 2016)

What are the countries you want to visit in the next five years?

Reasons for Travelling Abroad

(HSBC, August 2016)

Nature/Hikes

Tasty Food

Good shopping experience

Short time flight/Limited time difference

Price/ Cheap curency

Historic sites/Cultural artefacts

Concerts/Entertainment

Ease of Visa

Others

0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800

0

214

133

247

247

184

25

13

52

3

0

285

285

143

92

42

118

87

63

217

140

127

91

128

171

129

112

Series2Series3Series4

What are the top 3 reasons in choosing your next destination abroad?

1st 2nd 3rd

( Market Research Report on Chinese Outbound Tourist (City) Consumption 2014, WTCF )

Shanghai, Guangdong and Beijing have the most overseas tourists, followed by coastal provinces such as Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shandong.

Liaoning in Northeast China, Hubei in central China and Sichuan in Southwest China are also home to large flows of tourists.

Chinese Outbound Tourism Source Regions

Major sources of outbound tourism coincide with regions with high income levels

Chinese High net Worth Individuals (HNIW) Regions

( COTRI, 2015)

Chinese Households Income Distribution 2013-2023Even at lower income levels, Chinese spend around 53% of their disposable income on travel (excluding necessities).People who earn more than $35,000 USD are more likely to book a long haul trip overseas.

Up to $20k

83.70%

10.10%

4.90% 1.10%0.20%

$20k to $35k

Chinese household income distribution 2013

(National Statistical Offices, Tourism Economics, 2014)

Chinese household income distribution 2023*

$35k to $70k $70k to $150kOver $150k

63.40%18.80%

12.80%

4.30% 0.80%Over $150k$70k to $150k

$35k to $70k

$20k to $35kUp to $20k

Chinese Household Income Distribution 2023

$35k-70k Triple to 63 ml households Long-haul trips and higher-cost accommodations

$70k-150k Quadruple to 21.3 ml households Long-haul trips and willing to spend a considerable amount on trips

Over $150kLuxury accommodations and spend more while on long-haul trips

$20k-35k incomeDouble to 92.6 ml householdsShort haul trips and low cost accommodations

63.40%18.80%

12.80%

4.30% 0.80%Over $150k$70k to $150k

$35k to $70k

$20k to $35kUp to $20k

Chinese travelers' Profile Evolution

我去过I’ve been there

我买过I’ve bought it

我体过I’ve experienced it

As travelers make repeated trips overseas, they become less concerned with compulsive sightseeing and shopping and more interested in authentic experiences, such as getting in contact with the locals and exploring less mainstream destinations.

This trend is mostly driven by HNWI and millennials, who value less about status linked to material possessions and more about validation by living unique experiences.

Chinese Millennials

56%

11%

26%

6%

Post-90s Post-80s Post-70s

( Market Research Report on Chinese Outbound Tourist (City) Consumption 2014, WTCF )

Age Distribution

Chinese Millennials account for more than 56% of all outbound travelers and women account for 60% of all travelers.• 69% use the internet mostly for social media purposes• 60% prefers online sources to offline ones• They grew up travelling and spend a big percentage of their income on it

Digital Landscape

China & the Internet

(Kantar, 2016)

China & the Internet

Social media are

ubiquitous

90% internet users have

at least one social media

account (2014 CNNIC)

Half of China

is now online

731 mill internet users,

53.1% of China’s population(Dec 2016 CNNIC)

Mobile is key

695 million smart phone

users, 95.1% of all internet

users (Dec 2016 CNNIC)

Live streaming and short videos were the social media darlings of 2016 and will continue to be so in 2017.

Chinese people also spend 6.5 hours per day on their mobile phones, as opposed the

global average of 5 hours.

China & the Internet - The Importance of Mobile

Internet use across different platforms

Mobile Payments – 50% growth in 2015

Chinese Digital Landscape - Internet & Travel

(Hotels.com, 2015)

More travelers have used an online source over the past 12 months

Half of all travelers used smart phone apps to plan and book travel

(World Tourism Cities Federation, 2015)

0.00%20.00%40.00%60.00%80.00% 74.64%

44.12%

Reliance of Chinese Outbound Tourists on “Word-of-Mouth”

Most used sources of travel information by Chinese outbound tourists

(World Tourism Cities Federation, 2015)

Chinese Digital Landscape - Sources of Information

Open the official Chinese websites

Open the official Chinese microblog/WeChat

Develop Chinese mobile client side (app)

Use travel websites

Conduct promotional activities

Use portal sites

Use websites of travel agencies

0.00% 10.00% 20.00% 30.00% 40.00% 50.00% 60.00% 70.00%

60.40%

45.10%

36.68%

31.35%

30.51%

25.35%

23.84%

Chinese Digital Landscape - Sharing Trip Experience

(2016 China's Online Outbound Travel Report – iResearch)

Social Networking

Weibo

Travel Sites

Travel Review/Guide Sites

Community/Forum

Rarely Share

62.90%

45.60%

39.30%

36.50%

32.90%

10.70%

Preferred Platforms to Share Travel Experiences

31

Millennial Guo Chenchen Trip to the Philippines

Inspiration- WeChat

Planning- Mafengwo

Booking- Agoda & Booking

During Trip Sharing- WeChat

Solutions

Consumer WebsiteConsumer Mobile AppConsumer Social Media/KOL Consumer PR Reputation ManagementAdvertisingConsumer EMD SEO/SEM Digital Campaigns

Agent Training/CertificationTrade PRTrade Events/Road ShowFAM TripTrade AdvertisingTrade WebsiteTrade EDMContent Management

Direct Booking SiteSocial Booking WidgetsMeta Search (Qunar)Store Front (Fliggy)Call CentrePayment Processing

OTA DistributionAgent Booking SiteAgent Incentive ProgramB2B ConnectivityProduct DiscoveryAgent Relationship Management Payment/Commission Processing

Consumer Trade

Branding

Selling

Introducing the Travel Marketing Matrix

Digital WOM - Travel Review Sites & WeChat Influencing existing guests and providing them with a delightful experience is the most cost effective and powerful tool to build your online brand awareness in China.

Hotel Markazi in Tehran has no website, no social media, yet 50% of its guests are Chinese

Chinese tourist Guo Chenchen’s during trip posts on WeChat

China Localised Websites

• Chinese consumers expect a website to launch with 4.8 seconds – but 85% of European websites fail to meet that target, with an average load time of 33.1 seconds

• 60% of Chinese users say they avoid non-Chinese websites

Website - Why Hosting in China Matters

What are your perceptions of a brand when a non-Chinese brand's website takes too long to load?

19%

17%

17%

15%

17%

7%

8%

It makes the brand appear less trustworthy

It makes me believe they don't value Chinese custom

It makes me converned about the brand longevity

It makes the brand appear less reliable

It makes the brand seem underequipped and not fit for purpose

It doesn't concern me- I can use a Chinese al-ternative

It doesn’t concern me - I don't make a con-nection between the brand's website per-formance and the brand itself

Turespaña - China Localised Website

http://www.hellospain.cn/ is a mobile responsive website.

EXPERIENCESATTRACTIONSDESTINATIONSWECHAT ARTICLESITINERARIES

EXPERIENCESFlamencoFootballLas FallasTapas

Tourism Spain Website - Guided Navigation

Tourism Spain Website - Guided Navigation

In depth information about flamenco

Tourism Spain Website - Planning a Trip

DESTINATIONSDISCOVERING SPAINABOUT SPAINITINERARIESPHOTO GALLERY

Tourism Spain Website - Planning a Trip

Top cities on Qunar Top cities on Mafengwo

Smaller destinations have a dedicated section!

Tourism Spain Website - Content Localization

INFORMATION ON DIRECT FLIGHTS

VISA INFORMATION

UGC FROM CHINESE TRAVELLERS

STUDYING SPANISH INFORMATION

Tourism Spain Website - Content Localization

B2B Website - Norwegian Cruise LineDragon Trail developed a comprehensive B2B website that is 100% localized and mobile responsive website.

The website objective is to provide travel agents with a sound understanding of NCL´s products and access to all marketing materials.

The online training program on the China Travel Academy platform is promoted and made accessible through the website.

NCL’s website homepage:http://www.goncl.cn/

B2B Website - Norwegian Cruise Line

Travel agents can access the website back end to customize various HTML5

presentations introducing Norwegian Cruise Line’s China friendly cruises.

Chinese friendly services Users’ contact form

Agency’s contacts

Customized travel agents’ page

Agency’s QR code

China friendly itinerary cover page

Thyssen Museum China Starter Website http://museothyssenmadrid.cn/

Direct links to Chinese social media and ecommerce site to buy the tickets

Content has been selected and revised to be only relevant to the Chinese market

Templated Website - Thyssen Museum

Foreword for Chinese visitors

Recommended Itineraries for Chinese travelers

Prominent Chinese testimonials’ impressions about the museum

Templated Website - Thyssen Museum

Social Media

49

After months of decline, mass communication tool Weibo last year recorded strong growth in advertising and number of users thanks to video and live streaming.

Sina Weibo

500+ ml registered users

313 ml monthly active users (+33% yoy) Dec 2016

139 ml daily active users (+30% yoy)

Short videos 1,840,000,000 average videos posted per day in Q3 (740% y-o-y increase)

Live streaming23,000,000 sessions in Q3 (+124% Q2 over Q3 increase)

WeChat

1st tier cities

2nd tier cities

3rd tier cities

4th tier cities

5th tier cities

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100% 93%

69%

43%27% 28%

Penetration Rate by City

WeChat is China’s most popular social media app with 846 million

monthly active users, combining elements of Facebook, messaging, e-

commerce, payments and more. 50% of all WeChat users use the

platform for over 90 minutes per day and WeChat is the most used app

on the phone.

2. Social Layer1. Communication Layer

3. Media Layer 4. Connectivity Layer

WeChat - A Complex Multifunctional PlatformLayers of WeChat

WeChat Weekly Rankings

50 Top destinations in Canada, National

Geographic

12 zodiac sign for 12 USA cities

WeChat - A Complex Multifunctional Platform

Brand Awareness

How Can Brands Leverage WeChat?

On-Site and Off-Site Customer Service Fans Engagement

Hard Rock CampaignFor CNY

Hello my name is Jordan- first post gained over 4,000 page views

Agoda multi layer replies

80% of the online population

in China has WeChat

12 million official

accounts

How to Stand out on WeChat?

KOL Engagement

Foot Traffic QR code

WeChat Advertising

Good Content

WeChat - Don’t just Talk about Travel & Itineraries

Views: 32,471

CTC WeChat ID: CanadaTravel

A popular article about moving gestures and generous acts by Canadian citizens

published on WeChat received more than 32,000 views. Destination Canada’s WeChat

articles average 9,000 reads per month.

Leaving winter coats around the city for people in need

Holding disadvantaged people’s hands

Article on Swiss National Day“Dear Switzerland, today you turn 725 years

old!”

Views: +30,000Retweets: 1,500+

Zurich has become a very popular destination account on WeChat, despite being a small city.

University of Zurich & Zurich in 360°

Views:6,900+Retweets: 400+

WeChat - Talk About Topics of Interest to Chinese

WeChat - Highlight Local Experiences & Cross Promote

LATCB’s WeChat account regularly posts articles introducing the different neighborhoods

of Los Angeles. It also promotes locally based activities and their WeChat accounts.

LATCB’s WeChat post about West Los Angeles LATCB WeChat post on an exhibition at the Getty Centre in LA

Campaign - Visit Europe

“The Travel Across Europe” campaign presented the diversity of European countries’

culture, and matched participants with famous European historical characters.

Results: 130,000 page views, 11,000 new Weibo fans and 2,100 WeChat fans.

The campaign was promoted on Mafengwo and Sky Scanner

The campaign promotes Destination Canada as a winter destination and ends with a

clear call to action with two tailored made itineraries to go and ski in Canada.

Campaign - Destination Canada

New Platforms

Video Marketing Strategy - Mobile is Key

iQiyi is an online video platform founded by Baidu.

Mei Pai is a popular app to shoot videos. Users can retouch them by adding effects.

Miao Pai is a video app. MiaoPai lets users shoot, edit, and share 10 second videos. Affiliated with Sina Weibo.

Youku is considered as the Chinese version of Youtube.

Leshi Internet Information & Technology offers more than 100,000 episodes of TV dramas and over 5,000 movie titles.

Tencent TV is part of Tencent Group, and is estimated to have grown to 700 million viewers.

SHORT FORM VIDEOS

LONG FORM VIDEOSVideo marketing is key in China, as 90%

of internet users consume content

through videos.

Destination Canada - Travel Around Canada 2016As part of 2016’s video marketing strategy, Destination Canada invited Ryan Pyle, a

well known Canadian photographer and motorcycle rider Lv Fei, to ride their bikes

around Canada for 20,000 km in 75 days. The trip is documented on various social

media and video platforms with the hashtag #TravelAroundCanada-OnTheRoad.

Video on video platform Meipai

Ryan Pyle’s Weibo retweeted by DC

Ryan Pyle has close to 1 million followers on Weibo

Live StreamingLive streaming is one of the latest phenomenon in China with many KOLs having their own show online. Yinke, Yizhibou, Douyu are among the most popular platforms.Sports Gaming Reality Show Other

Canada’s Today Headlines profile ： http://toutiao.com/m5869388818/

Additional Social Media - Today’s Headlines

Views: 6,695 Link http://toutiao.com/i6247632799612797441/

Canadian Inventions – Today Headlines

Article Views

Article Exposure

Retweets & Bookmarks Comments

1,730,728 17,594,245 11,333 977

Canadian Inventions – WeChat

Today Headlines ( 今日头条） is a news reading app, with 125 million Monthly Active Users, who spend more than 60 minutes on the platform each day.

Self Media - Short Videos & Pictures

Er Geng WeChat posts

Pear video produces original videos and publishes other self-media content.

Pear Video’s original video on Golden Globe Awards

Nice is a picture sharing platform, similar to Instagram.

Users can tag themselves & brands

Geng (二更 ) is a self media specialized in short videos.

Travel Media & Apps

Feekr WeChat posts

Feekr publishes travel guides and content on niche destinations.

Klook WeChat posts

Klook is an in destination activity provider focused on Asia and introducing niche activities.

24 HOURS WeChat posts

24HOURS is a travel-oriented lifestyle media focused on niche destinations and activities

WeChatB2B Marketing

Sweden, Israel, Canada, Los Angeles, Germany Magic Cities and Greece tourism

boards are some of the subscribers to CTA. On average more than 2,000 travel

trade users have completed their courses. The courses gained from 150,000 to

1,000,000 page views on each program which means a great awareness of the

destination among the China trade.

CTA Case StudiesB2B Marketing - China Travel Academy

The online training course is divided into different chapters.

How does CTA work?

A test at the end of every chapter will ensure that all learning requirements are met before users can progress further with the training.

When the users complete the program, they will receive a certificate of competency issued by the official tourism board.

Lucky draw prizes can be included at the end of each chapter to act as powerful incentives for test takers to complete the program.

B2B Marketing China Travel Academy

CTA PromotionB2B Marketing- Product Catalogue

3. Product ShowcaseThe catalogue lists a range of products descriptions for Chinese travel agents to browse and download

2. Product SearchChinese travel agents can filter tour products by type (e.g. accommodation), location and customer category (e.g. family)

1. Easy AccessThe Product Catalogue is linked to Tourism Authority of Thailand’s Trade WeChat Account for easy access by trade followers

4. ConnectivityTravel agents can directly call or email suppliers

The Product Catalogue is a mobile-first hub for RTOs and other local suppliers to display their products to Chinese travel agents helping to reinforce and create new commercial ties.

Destination Canada set up a service account to interact with trade, as an additional

resource to the WeChat group chats it hosts with travel agents.

WeChat’s service account ID: CanadaTravelTrade & QR code

WeChat menu

WeChat Menu Items

• Latest articles• DC’s partners• Events & Festivals• DC Roadshows• MICE

• Product Catalogue• Cool Canada• Best Tour Operators• Destination Training

• Visa• Self Driving • Flights• FAQ• Contact Details

B2B Marketing - WeChat Trade Account

Please contact us,

we would like to hear from you

Mr Roy GraffManaging Director EMEATel: +44 (0)20 3289 8915 Email: roy.graff@dragontrail.com Website: www.dragontrail.com

www.twitter.com/dragontrail

www.linkedin.com/company/dragon-trail

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